UK Songwriting Contest winner Neil Fitzpatrick (pictured above) has just signed a major publishing deal with the world's biggest independent music publishing company for his UKSC winning song "Apart". He is now part of the elite group of songwriters signed to Peers Music Group, whose roster of songwriters and artists include Justin Bieber, Rihanna, Bjork, Christina Aguilera, Beyonce and Garth Brooks. The song was chosen by the UKSC's top music industry judges as a winner and was heard by many in the music industry when it appeared on the contest's annual promotional Winners Album.

A UKSC spokesperson said "The judges thought that this song deserved to be a success and we promoted it to our contacts in the music industry, both in the UK and internationally, as we do with all UKSC winning songs. The response from industry insiders was very positive right from the start, so we knew the judges had made a good choice, and we are very pleased to know that Neil is now having such success with this song. It is well deserved."

Following the UKSC win sales of the song raised almost £30,000 for charity and Neil will be appearing in the Sky TV show about songwriters, Tin Pan Alley, which airs on Sky's Showbiz TV Channel on Sunday 2nd October at 6.30pm. The show is hosted by DJ Mike Read and aims to showcase the very best of British songwriting.